The Washington Commanders saw another defensive coordinator officially crossed off, while an offensive assistant continues to draw head coaching interviews
Another day, another defensive coordinator update with one longtime target officially crossed off.
As expected, former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon has accepted the position to become the next defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packets. Gannon replaces Jeff Hafley, who departed Green Bay to become the next head coach of the Miami Dolphins, while Gannon chose the Packers over the same position with both the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders.
Gannon was initially viewed as more likely to become Dallas' next defensive coordinator prior to the Packers' vacancy, but now, both teams are left searching for next steps.
It serves as the latest domino to drop in the Commanders search which now includes a field of Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and Seahawks pass game coordinator Karl Scott among several others. Meanwhile, former Falcons head coach Raheem Morris remains a wildcard in the search with TV reportedly on the table and an interview that has yet to materialize with Washington. Another former Dan Quinn assistant is expected to also interview for the Commanders vacancy, while a longtime Steelers assistant became the latest to join the mix of candidates with no updated timeline for when a hire could officially materialize.
Washington is also expected to interview Daronte Jones on Sunday. Jones, a Bishop McNamara High School graduate, has been with the Minnesota Vikings since 2022 and served as defensive pass game coordinator since 2023. He's also had stints across college, including LSUand Wisconsin, along with the NFL where also coached with the Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals.
The news also comes roughly 12 hours after news broke of a Commanders assistant drawing a second head coach interview with increased speculation of a possible departure.
On the same day that he was scheduled to interview with the Buffalo Bills for their head coaching vacancy, the Cleveland Browns announced that Washington Commanders run game coordinator Anthony Lynn also interviewed for their head coaching vacancy. This marks the second interview for the former Chargers and brief Bills head coach this offseason, posing a question for the makeup of the Commanders' offensive staff given the inexperience that has been promoted ahead of the 2026 season.
Lynn would mark a significant departure for the Commanders where he's served in his position as running backs coach and run game coordinator since Dan Quinn arrived following the 2023 season.
Washington also interviewed Lynn for the offensive coordinator vacancy in February 2023 before ultimately turning to Eric Bieniemy, who spent one season with the organization and has since returned to Kansas City as offensive coordinator ahead of the 2026 season.
As a permanent head coach, Lynn is 33-31 over four seasons including finishing above .500 in each of his first two seasons while guiding the Chargers to the AFC divisional game after finishing 12-4 in 2018.
Also drawing interest from the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers for their head coaching vacancies in 2016 and 2016, Lynn previously worked in Cleveland where he served as running backs coach in 2005 and 2006 where he watched starter Reuben Droughns run for just shy of 2,000 combined yards. Of course, Lynn also served as assistant head coach and running back coach in Buffalo in 2015 before being elevated to offensive coordinator in 2016, then serving as interim head coach after Rex Ryan was fired.